Jack-top



June 2, 1931; POPE 1,807,795

JACK TOP Filed Aug. 27', 1924 Fig.2.

Patented June 2, 1931 UNITED ,s TEs PATENT oFFicE- ELMER a. POPE, or HAMILTON, iuassaonusnrrs, Assisi-nor. T UNITED srron MA CHINERY oonronarron, or rnrnnson, new Vanessa, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY JACK-TO]? Application filed. August 27, 1924. Serial No. 734,477.

This invention relates tothe work-supporting portions of jacks, as those which are employed for presenting shoes to the mecha nisms by which the heels are attached, and it particularly concerns those supporting portions which are arranged for movement upon the jacks. V

In heeling shoes, a considerable pressure is applied to properly hold the heels in place for thenailing operation. When the shoes are upon lasts, the crowns of which are forced by thispressure against the top of the supporting jack, these crown-portions of the cones are liable to become broken; To compensate for suchir'regularity in the pressurer face may be variously inclined. When the next lasted shoe is applied to the jack, this uncertainty of position tends to delay the operation, especially if the last is to be placed over a pin rising from the bed-plate. When such a pin is present, it may assume widely different angles, and, when a universal joint is employed in the ack-top, may be inclined in any direction about the entire circumference of the jack-post. As there is not a great deal of clearance between the pin and the hole in the last which receives it, the operator must use some effort to locate the pin and place the last upon it.

' It is an object of my invention to remove such difficulties, and this I accomplish by associating with the last-support mounted for universal or tilting movement, novel means for holding it yieldably and for returning it to a definite normal position. As a result of this, an angularly movable bed-plate supporting a lasted, jacked shoe may accommodate itself to the applied pressure, as in preparation for nailing a heel, and when this is released and the shoe removed, the support will invariably be restored, so that the operator need not give particular attention to its location upon jacking the succeeding shoe. Preferably, the last-receiving surface is normally held substantially horizontal, the axis of the pin being vertical. Herein is shown a universal joint, of the ball-and-socket type, connecting sections of the jack-top, while between these sections is yieldable centering means, which mayconsist of springs located at opposite sides of the joint and retained against displacement by securingmeans for a portion of saidjoint.

-A particular embodiment ofv the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which i Fig. 1 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section through my improved jack-top Fig. 2, a central, vertical, transverse section therethrough; and i t Fig. 3, a top plan view. 1

At 10 appears 'theupper extremity of a j ack-post of a heel-attaching machine, a portion of the co-operating die-block,.against which the heel is pressed for the nailing operation, being indicated-at 12. Arranged to slide transversely of the jack-post in ways 14, so that the work may be correctly located with respect to the nailing mechanism, is a lower plate'or section 16 of the jack-top. This sliding :plate contains a socket 18 forming a portion ofa universal joint,a co-operating element of which is furnished by a ball 20 depending fromlthe last-bed-plate 22, which constitutes the upper section of theijack-t'op.

A last-pin 24' rises from the center, of the crown-contacting.surface 25 of the bed-plate, being preferably removable, it having a shank 26 entering a vertical opening 28 in thebedplate. The removability of the pin allows the top to be used without a projection when Bal shoes areto beheeled, the extended uppers, by their contact withv the. jack, serving to sufficiently locate the work. Forroxfords, however, thepresence of the pin is important, and is sometimes preferred for all classes of work. The ball20 is shown as held in itssocket by a cover-plate 30 overhanging the top, of said ball and secured to the .upper surface of the slide 16 by screws 32, 32 inserted fromv the under side of the slide. These screws are- Ina located at the front and rear of the ack-top below the outer portion of the last-bed-plate, and are shown as provided with reduced ends 34 projecting above the cover-plate, and with which are alined sockets or depressions 36, 36 in the under side of the plate 22. These sockets the screw-ends enter, preventing rotation of the last-bed-plate about the longitudinal axis of the jack. Surrounding and retained against lateral displacement by the ends of the screws, with their upper extremities resting in the sockets 36, are helical springs 38, 38. These springs exert their force to turn the ball 20 in the socket 18, so that, in absence of pressure upon it, the bed-plate 22 will lie with its surface 25 substantially horizontal. Thea-Xis of the last-pin 24 will consequently be vertical. When thus centered, the operator, in applying a lasted shoe to the jack, will know precisely where to find both the last-pin and the crown-contacting surface, and need give no thought to the manner in which he is to perform the jacking operation. It therefore becomes largely mechanical, being done more rapidly and with less burden upon the operator. When the machine applies pressure to the work, the bedplate yields in whatever direction may be necessary to conform to the inclination of the crown of the last, the springs 38 permitting this and restoring the-bed-plate to its definite normal position as soon as the pressure is removed. !Iherestoration'for deflection toward the front or rear of the jack is effected by the expansion of the particular spring which'may have been compressed, while laterally the springs act together by their tendency to straighten.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. In a heeling machine, the combination with a jack-post, of a last-supporting bedplate mounted thereon for universal angular movement, and means arranged to hold the bed-plate yieldably in a definite normal angle.

2. In a heeling machine, the combination with a jackpost, of a last-support mounted thereon, a universal joint by which the lastsupport is carried, and yieldable centering members spaced from one another about and acting upon the last-support.

3. In a jack, aslide provided with a socket, a last-bed-plate having a ball engaging the socket, and springs located at opposite sides of the ball and contacting with the slide and bed-plate.

4. A jack-top comprising plates, a universal joint connecting the plates, means for securing a portion of the joint against movement, and centering means acting upon one of the plates and retained by the securing means.

5. A jack-top comprising plates, a universal joint connecting the plates, screws securing a portion of the joint, and springs interposed between the plates and retained by the screws.

6. A jack-top comprising a plate provided with a socket, a last-bed-plate having a ball engaging the socket, a cover-plate arranged to retain the ball in the socket, springs interposed between the co-ver-plate and bed-plate, and combined means for securing the coverplate upon the socket-plate and for holding the springs against displacement.

7 In a heeling machine, a jack-post, a die block against which jacked work is pressed for the heel-attaching operation, a last-bedplate mounted upon the j ack-post to tilt under the influence of the applied pressure, and means arranged to return the bed-plate after movement to a definite position upon the jack-post.

8. Ina heeling machine, a ack-post, a dieblock against which acked work is pressed for the heel-attaching operation, a last-bed plate mounted upon the jack-post, a universal joint connecting the bed-plate and jackpost, and yieldable centering members interposed between the ack-post and bed-plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ELMER R. POPE.

Lou 

